Optimizing Model Land Use and Crop Productivity in Agroforestry Farms for Food Security of Small Farmers in Burundi

Abstract

Burundi faces major agricultural constraints, including land fragmentation, soil erosion, limited access to inputs, inadequate infrastructure and demographic pressures that exacerbate food insecurity. In order to address the multiple challenges faced by farmers in rural areas, a study on improving agricultural productivity and food security in Burundi through optimized land use and diversified farming practices in agroforestry systems has been carried out. The study area is the communes of Giheta and Rutegama, all located in Burundi’s humid plateau livelihood zone, and involved 164 households grouped in coffee growing cooperatives supervised by the cooperative consortium COCOCA. The study uses a mathematical programming model to determine optimal crop selection based on factors such as production costs, yields and market demand. The findings of the study revealed significant insights into the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the sampled population. Notably, 98.8% of respondents were engaged in agriculture, confirming the predominantly agricultural nature of Burundi. The results indicated that maize is the most important crop, occupying 33.9% of the average total cultivated area, followed by cassava at 26.5% and bananas at 19.4%. Together, these three crops accounted for a substantial portion of the total cultivated area, highlighting their significance in local agriculture. Beans and potatoes also play a role, occupying 14.4% and smaller areas, respectively. In terms of profitability, the study provides a detailed analysis of profit margins by crop. Bananas emerges as the most profitable crop, with a profit margin of 97.3%, followed closely by cassava at 96.1% and rice at 90.5%. These crops not only offered substantial yields relative to their production costs but also benefited from strong market demand. Other crops, such as beans (71.3%), coffee (70.3%), and vegetables (54.5%), also demonstrated considerable profitability, although they occupied smaller cultivated areas. Conversely, crops like pigeon peas (4.1%), potatoes (7.6%), and sweet potatoes (7.6%) exhibited the lowest profit margins, which may discourage farmers from investing in them unless other incentives, such as ecological benefits or local consumption needs, are present. Regarding the results, we therefore recommend to promote policies supporting agroforestry, improve market access and develop infrastructure to exploit these benefits.